Walmart Wants To Deliver Food Directly Into Your Fridge

In an interview with CNBC, Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart’s U.S. eCommerce business, laid out what he saw as the future of food delivery.

Lore said “delivery right into the fridge” could very well be the next thing in food delivery as the retail giant continues to expand its services.

It would work like this: Customers would get a one-time code when they order, and a delivery person “with a camera on their chest” would come in and put food in a person’s fridge.

“You can watch it on your iPhone and see them come in, put it in your fridge and leave, to sort of build confidence and trust in these Walmart associates doing it,” he said. “So … imagine going out to work, coming home and there it is. The stuff’s in your fridge already.”

He even took it a step further — envisioning a time when people wouldn’t even have to order food; it would just automatically refill.

“How about just being able to keep you in stock on everything you need and not even have to think about it? That’s the future,” he said.

Walmart, in a bid to compete with Amazon, has been investing heavily in its eCommerce sector, acquiring a number of related websites.

Lore claims Walmart has a store within 10 miles of 90 percent of the U.S. population. He said the company’s 4,700 locations are “hybrid warehouses.” The eventual goal is same-day delivery, which the company said it’s planning to introduce to 40 percent of the population by the end of 2018 and 60 percent by 2019.

Walmart’s proximity to the majority of the U.S. population also spurred another partnership — this time between the retail company and PayPal. The union allows PayPal users to deposit or withdraw cash from their PayPal accounts or PayPal Cash Mastercard accounts at any Walmart customer service desk, ATM or cash register for a flat $3 fee.